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Nursing Research

Partners in Research and Evidence-based Practice

Baptist Health’s six entity-based research specialists are “helping nurses get over the ‘R’ word,” says Andrea Prentiss, ARNP, Baptist Hospital Women’s and Children’s Research Specialist. “For many nurses, the word research is terrifying,” she explained. But it need not be. Working with the Center for Research & Grants, the team of seasoned nurses fosters a culture of nursing research and promotes evidence-based practice at Baptist Health.

“We mentor nurses at the grass-roots level and assist them through every step of the research process,” said Ms. Prentiss, who has more than 30 years of experience in pediatric and neonatal intensive care. She has been in her present role since April 2011 and is currently obtaining her Ph.D. in nursing. To encourage nursing involvement in data collection and decision making in patient care –– an important element of Magnet status –– Ms. Prentiss and Baptist Hospital Research Specialist Eve Butler, Ph.D., R.N., have an open-door policy. The pair also assist entire teams, such as the hospital’s pain team, as they perform research studies. Dr. Butler has cared for patients at Baptist Hospital for 27 years, serving in various units including the NICU and PICU. Returning to school to obtain her Ph.D. ignited her interest in clinical research and helped prepare her for the research specialist role.

“Research is an integral part of nursing –– it shapes the care we provide and creates better ways to do what we do,” Dr. Butler said. “Kudos to Baptist Health for providing nurses with such a tremendous research support system.” Shakira Henderson, R.N., South Miami Hospital’s Research Specialist, is a second-career nurse who is passionate about research and learning. After spending 10 years in biology research, she yearned to do healthcare research. She joined Baptist Health in 2008 after simultaneously completing three degrees –– a bachelor’s in nursing and master’s degrees in anatomy and public health. She served as a nurse clinician in South Miami Hospital’s NICU. Ms. Henderson is currently earning two doctorate degrees –– DNP and Ph.D. Like her colleagues, she supports nurses conducting research and mentors those completing the evidence-based component of the Professional Nurse Advancement Program.

Throughout her 50-year nursing career, Doctors Hospital Research Specialist Carolyn Lindgren, Ph.D., R.N., has mentored and educated nurses in Michigan, Texas, Ohio and Florida. She received tenure while teaching at Wayne State University in Michigan. This year, Dr. Lindgren celebrates her five-year anniversary with Baptist Health.

“Nurses often have questions and know there is a better way. They are the practice experts,” said Dr. Lindgren. “It is a joy for me to work with nurses on research that addresses the practice issues. Together, we are building evidence and elevating the quality of nursing practice.” Homestead and Mariners Hospital Research Specialist Maria M. Ojeda, MSN, has been involved in the world of research for 20 years. As a certified family nurse practitioner, Ms. Ojeda’s clinical background is in primary care, geriatrics and occupational and employee health. She also holds a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in epidemiology and a certificate in data mining. Ms. Ojeda is currently obtaining her DNP and Ph.D. “Research touches so many aspects of what we do in healthcare every day. Seeing that practitioner have an ‘aha!’ moment and becoming a true believer in research is absolutely thrilling,” she said. Baptist Health Nursing Research Specialists Andrea Prentiss, Maria Ojeda, Eve Butler, Tanya Judkins-Cohn, Carolyn Lindgren and Shakira Henderson.

West Kendall Baptist Hospital Research Specialist Tanya Judkins-Cohn, MSN, is a second-career nurse with experience working in medical-surgical and surgical-trauma ICU. Before obtaining her master’s degree in nursing, her first career role was as a mentor and counselor for at-risk children. Ms. Judkins-Cohn has been a research nurse with Baptist Health for four years and a research specialist for three. The mother of 4-year-old twins is currently obtaining her Ph.D. “It’s very rewarding to work in a system where the leaders support and celebrate nursing research,” Ms. Judkins-Cohn said.

Baptist Health Nursing Research Projects

Our Center for Research and Grants oversees all clinical studies carried out at Baptist Health, including nursing research, and evaluates their findings.

    • Will Pediatric Advanced Life Support for Pharmacist Education in Conjunction with Mock Codes Increase Personal Perception of Effectiveness and Locus of Control?
    • BCH ED Charge Nurse Development Program: A Study on Increased Confidence and Program Evaluation
    • Creation of a Blood Culture Task Force and Its Impact on Contamination Rates
    • Is It Time to Get Out the Big Guns? The Efficacy of Intraosseous Access in the Emergency Department
    • Nurse Perceptions of the AccuVein 300 in Assisting with Intravenous Insertion and/or Phlebotomy
    • Got the Message? Texting Versus Talking
    • Postpartum Depression: Assessing for Risk
    • A Comparison Of Occupational Stressors, Stress Perception Levels and Coping Styles of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y Med-Surg Nurses
    • Perceptions of Quality Stroke Education Through the Implementation of a Patient and Family Interactive Stroke Booklet
    • Nurse/Physician Communication in the Emergency Department: Two Men in a Burning House Must Not Stop to Argue
    • Characteristics of Hospitalized Elderly Patients in an Acute Care Setting
    • Family Presence During Resuscitation in the Adult Emergency Department
    • A Comparison of Electromagnetic Enteral Access Device Images to Abdominal Radiograph Images for Accuracy in Post-Pyloric Bedside Placement of Small Bore Enteral Tubes
    • Expanding RN Scope of Practice: Nursing Workforce Survey of Genomic Knowledge Attitudes and Practices
    • Standardizing Morse Fall Scale Assessment Among Registered Nurses
    • Pre-Operative Stoma Teaching. Does It Really Make a Difference?
    • Osteoporosis Awareness Study: Do Patients and Families Understand the Underlying Cause of an Incident Fracture?
    • Does the Use of Pain Boards Improve a Patient’s Perceptions of Inpatient Pain Management?
    • Evidence-based Practice at the Bedside: Competency of the Clinical Educator and Patient Outcome Facilitator

    • Care in the eICU: eICU Clinical Outcomes and Satisfaction
    • Efficacy of Early Intervention Bundles in Patients Identified with Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock
    • Improving Ventilator Management and Preventing Injury to Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure (also Known as Lung Injury Knowledge Network or LINK) Multinational, Multisite
    • Nurse Executive Academy: Nurse Leader’s Perception of the Talent Management Development Program
    • Patterns of Indications for Vitamin D Levels in the Acute Care Setting: A Pilot Study in the Application of Data Mining
    • Patient Falls and Staff Injuries: Evaluating Trends and Associations
    • Assessing Moral Distress Among Healthcare Professionals at a Health System
    • The Effectiveness of the Tyron Hula-Hoop Axis Tool (HAT): Identifying the Ventricular Axis on a 12-Lead EKG at the Completion of a Cardiac Interpretation Course Series and a Human Patient Simulation Scenario for Specialty Academy Registered Nurses
    • My Unlimited Potential: A Multidisciplinary Approach Toward Decreasing the Risk of Chronic Disease in the Workplace
    • The Influence of a Critical Care Educational Program Using a Human Patient Simulator in Developing Skills of Students in Crisis Resources Management
    • The Effect of Nighttime Use of Earplugs on Delirium and Sleep Perception in Older Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study
    • Creation of an Assessment Tool for Implementation and Evaluation of Unit-Based Competency: Nurses' and Nursing Leadership’s Perception of Unit-Based Competency Compared to Traditional Skills Fair
    • Exploration of Heart Failure Patients Perspective of Discharge Planning and Hospital Recidivism
    • Selected Predictors of Empowerment Among Nurse Managers
    • Children's Responses to Sibling Death in NICU/PICU in 3 Racial/Ethnic Groups
    • Cobedding: Does Policy Affect Nurse Attitude and Perception?
    • Identifying a Nursing Research Agenda for Baptist Health
    • Action to Mentor Survey: Perceptions of Leadership in a Hospital System
    • Nurses' Risk of Compassion Fatigue and Its Perceived Impact on Patient Care and Nurse Retention
    • Content Validity of the Tryon Hula-Hoop Axis Tool
    • Merging Departments: An Assessment of the Barriers Faced by Radiation Therapists at Baptist and South Miami Hospital
    • Reproducing the Framingham Risk Equations in White Hispanic Women to Explore Estimated Cardiovascular Risk and Compare Them to White Hispanic Men and White Non-Hispanic Women and Men

    • Development of a Tool for Identifying Patients Eligible for Care of the Older Adult Sitter Services in an Acute Care Hospital
    • Characteristics of Patients and Outcomes of Ultrasound-Assisted Peripheral IV Insertion
    • Clinical Partners' Perceptions of Patient Assignments According to Acuity Level
    • Phase 1: Construction of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) Questionnaire to Identify the Salient Behavioral, Normative and Control Beliefs of the Medical/Surgical Nurse to Partner with Patients During Change of Shift Report
    • Discharge Process and Patient Satisfaction on Telemetry Unit

    • Measuring Unit Practice Council Functionality: A Pilot Study
    • Scale-Skin Changes at Life's End: Educational Intervention for Critical Care Registered Nurses and Medical Surgical Registered Nurses
    • Development of a Perinatal Acuity Scoring Tool (PAST)

    • A Rural Hospital’s Understanding of Shared Governance
    • Barriers to Research at a Small Rural Community Hospital

    • Measuring Unit Practice Council Functionality: A Pilot Study
    • Hyperglycemia Protocol: Effect on Glycemic Control among Med-Surg Patients
    • Cardiac Rehabilitation's Enrollment Barriers of the Post-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Patients
    • Beyond the Braden Scale: Effectiveness of a Small Group Educational Program on Neuro Nurses' Braden Risk Assessment Scores and Number of Preventive Nursing Interventions
    • Healthcare Response in Addressing the Needs of the Blind and Visually Impaired: A Retrospective Analysis of a One-Group Pretest-Post-Design

    • Will Installation of Medication Cabinets in Medical-Surgical Patients' Rooms Increase Nurses' Satisfaction with the Medication Administration System Without Altering Charge Accuracy?
    • Shared Governance Equals Shared Decision; Is It or Is It Not?
    • The Experiences and Meaning of Being Cared for in the Emergency Room of Hispanic Women Living with a Chronic Disease or Condition
    • Effects of Supplemental Breast Milk on Newborn Outcomes Compared to On-Demand-Only Breastfeeding or Supplemental Formula

Research Fellowship

Nurses and allied health professionals are invited to apply for a two-year research fellowship designed to develop clinical leaders by helping them create, evaluate and implement evidence-based clinical changes. Each year, the Fellows are chosen following the submission of their application and a panel interview conducted by the program director, coordinator and Baptist Health’s research specialists.

Apply

Baptist Health Research

The Baptist Health Research program focuses on the acceleration of healthcare discovery and innovation through collaborative clinical research across Baptist Health, which supports the organization’s long-standing commitment to providing the highest quality of patient care guided by evidence-based practices.